High levels of “hidden” fat known as visceral fat may put you at higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease up to two decades before symptoms first appear, according to study findings presented at the latest annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
For the study, 80 middle-aged people who did not have cognitive issues underwent imaging scans of their brain and body and blood tests for cholesterol, glucose (sugar) and insulin. Their average age was 49 and nearly 60% of them were obese, with an average body mass index (BMI) of 32.
The researchers discovered that higher levels of visceral fat were associated with increased presence of amyloid, an abnormal protein in the brain that has been associated with Alzheimer’s. In fact, visceral fat accounted for 77% of the effect of high BMI on amyloid accumulation.
Higher levels of visceral fat were also associated with higher levels of tau, another protein linked to Alzheimer’s.
In addition to visceral fat, higher insulin resistance and lower HDL cholesterol (aka “good” cholesterol) were associated with more amyloid in the brain.
Visceral fat is considered to be “hidden” because it is deeper in the abdomen. It builds up around internal organs such as the intestines, liver and stomach. (Subcutaneous fat, on the other hand, is under the skin. But the researchers did not find an association between subcutaneous fat and Alzheimer’s disease risk.)
Visceral fat has been linked to other serious health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
A combination of genetic and environmental factors can promote visceral fat. Such environmental factors include a poor diet — with high consumption of fatty foods and carbohydrates — and a lack of exercise.
In a summary of the study findings, lead study author Dr. Mahsa Dolatshahi said the researchers believe the study is the first to find a link between visceral fat and amyloid and tau “at midlife where our participants are decades out from developing the earliest symptoms of the dementia” resulting from Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers also noted that lifestyle changes designed to reduce visceral fat could influence the development of Alzheimer’s.
Dolatshahi continued:
“This crucial result was discovered because we investigated Alzheimer’s disease pathology as early as midlife — in the 40s and 50s — when the disease pathology is at its earliest stages, and potential modifications like weight loss and reducing visceral fat are more effective as a means of preventing or delaying the onset of the disease.”
Alzheimer’s disease impacts an estimated 6.9 million Americans aged 65 or older. That number could grow to 13 million by 2050.
For more on the connection between body fat and brain health, check out “2 Types of Body Fat Are Now Linked to Dementia, Parkinson’s Risk.”
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